


Rebuilt Girls & Romance

by MachineQueen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Atlas - Freeform, Dating, F/F, Fluff, Nuts and Dolts - Freeform, set during volume 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22723606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MachineQueen/pseuds/MachineQueen
Summary: Ruby's in Atlas and it's time for Penny to use everything she's learned about romance since they last saw each other at the Fall of Beacon.Follows on from Real Girls and Romance.
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 70





	Rebuilt Girls & Romance

**Author's Note:**

> have Penny being cute
> 
> for my gf <3 happy valentine's!

“Miss Winter, can you sign this for me?”

Penny presented the paper with a flourish. It would have been much easier to send via email but this was one of those documents that required something called a ‘wet signature’. 

Wet signatures were not actually wet. Winter had very kindly explained this when the first time around Penny had presented her with a bewildered look and a soggy piece of paper. Penny couldn’t write - she didn't need to. But Winter took notes in meetings and the way her hand swept and looped letters onto the page was fascinating. 

Winter looked up from the Atlesian Knight she was examining and took the form with grease-smudged gloves. “You’ve never requested leave before.”

“Do you think the general will say no?”

“...I am sure I can make him say yes. There are other huntsmen we can use to cover Mantle as a temporary measure. We all need a break, after all.”

It was kind of Winter to say that everyone needed a break when Penny had never seen her stop work for so much as a cup of tea. A quick scan of Winter’s diary showed no reprieve from duty in the foreseeable future. Today she was examining the Atlesian Knights that needed repair. Lines of them stood in the bay, weather battered and Grimm beaten. The air smelt like rain and engine oil and it made Penny feel queasy. She forced herself to ignore it while Winter fumbled in her coat for a pen. With a neat swoosh, she signed the form. 

“Miss Winter, I have another question. Where do you take someone in Atlas if you like them in a kissing sort of way?”

“A-a kissing sort of way?” Winter flushed. There was no discernible change in temperature. Penny wondered if she was coming down with something. Humans often got ill thanks to viruses and their vulnerability to the cold. 

“You know what kissing is, don’t you?”

“I didn’t know you had someone you were k-kissing...”

“In fact, I haven’t kissed her in a while but I’d very much like to do so again.”

“Well…” Winter trailed off. “I hear that you take them for a meal. Or to the pictures. Or ice skating.”

“Which would you recommend?”

“I think that would depend on the person. I don’t suppose you’ll tell me who it is?”

“Why, it’s Ruby Rose of course!”

Winter gave her a look Penny couldn’t quite read. The eyebrows of disbelief and the mouth of confusion. Which was strange, because Penny hadn’t been shy about taking Ruby’s hand or leaning on her shoulder. Granted, they hadn’t kissed since Ruby had arrived in Atlas. But Ruby kept reaching out to touch Penny’s back or her wrist, as though checking she were solidly real. There was no lack of interest keeping them apart - just a lack of time. 

“I don’t know Miss Rose personally,” said Winter. “But from my sister’s letters, she seems lively. So perhaps ice skating?”

“Understood! Then ice skating it shall be!”

Penny had seen ‘Atlas’s iconic Icescape’ advertised on billboards around Mantle. She’d also caught glimpses of a TV show about a cute ice skater (though not as cute as Ruby). Gliding over the ice looked peaceful, the perfect way to relax. Ruby had been on edge ever since she’d arrived, so different from the girl she’d kissed in Vale. Maybe this would give them both some time to...recalibrate. To make up for lost time. 

XxX

“I don’t know, Penny…”

Penny felt her face fall. She had been certain Ruby would love the idea. The Ruby she knew from Vale would have said yes in a heartbeat. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Ruby said quickly. “It’s more that I have so much to do. Missions and training and missions and more training…”

“But we haven’t really spent any time together since you arrived.” It felt like there was an imaginary lump in her throat. Of course, she understood that work needed to be done. But she’d got time off from Winter! She’d spent a whole night watching ice skating videos! She’d daydreamed about how Ruby’s new haircut would feel in her fingers! 

“I know. But with so much at stake, can I really justify even a single night off? What if something happened? It’s not fair on my team. I am the leader, you know?”

“But everyone needs a break. Even Miss Winter said so.”

“Penny.” Ruby took her hand. “How about this? I might not be able to take time off but if we told the others you had a special mission for me in Atlas and it just so happened to be at the ice skating rink then-”

Penny considered the idea, Ruby’s hand warm in hers. It wasn’t as if Penny had never lied in the past. Granted, it usually wasn’t for completely selfish reasons but...if this was the only way…

“Yes. A special mission,” she said. “Exactly.”

_Hiccup._

Ruby smiled. “Why didn’t you say so? Of course I’m happy to help!”

“What if the others ask the Ace Ops about it?”

“Is it perhaps a _secret_ mission?” asked Ruby with the impish grin that Penny loved. 

“Oh! Yes, I believe it is.”

_Hiccup._

Penny curled her fingers round Ruby’s and squeezed, careful not to break fingers. She had missed this. Though Winter and the general were kind in their own way, they weren’t warm. Their kindness was tucked away in small gestures and hanging sentences. You had to work to find it. It was by far the hardest thing about living in Atlas. 

With Ruby, it was simple. She spoke plainly and never masked her affection. It was much more comfortable to be with someone when you weren’t picking through their words, looking for what they really meant to say. 

XxX

The Icescape was in the tourist part of Atlas. They walked through streets lined with restaurants and souvenir shops. Ruby stopped to look into the darkened window of one, eyeing ‘I heart Atlas’ shirts and a display of mugs, keyrings and pens all plastered with the iconic Schnee Dust Company snowflake. 

“Would you like anything?” asked Penny.

“No. It’s just weird to see Weiss’s emblem everywhere.”

“Weiss’s sister is the one who let me have the time off,” said Penny. “I like Winter. But it’s sometimes hard to tell what she’s thinking.”

“It’s never hard to tell what Weiss is thinking. Even if she doesn’t say it with her mouth, she says it with her face.”

“Winter is only easy to analyse when she is with the general. Her face goes soft when he isn’t looking. I think she feels safe with him.”

“Do _you_ feel safe, Penny?”

Penny struggled with the question. It was her job to take care of the people in Mantle. She never gave much thought to herself. After all, she wasn’t blood and bone. She could be repaired in a way real people could not. “I am valued. Useful. The general will provide help if I call for it.”

“Or you can always call me.”

“I can? Really?”

“Of course, silly!”

Penny felt her lips turn upwards into a smile. She smiled a lot, but it felt best with Ruby. With one palm on her shoulder, Ruby stretched up on tiptoe to press a kiss to her cheek. It was only a quick brush of lips, point one of a second at most. Funny how just a touch could make Penny light up from the inside out. 

They had almost reached the rink. Just a little bit further. Wind gusted down the street, rattling signs and beating against windows. There weren’t many lights on. Only a couple of solemn faced people hurried past, wrapped up tightly against the cold.

“It sure is quiet round here,” said Ruby. “Isn’t this supposed to be the busiest part of Atlas?”

“It was, until the general closed the borders. Without tourists, it all shut down.”

Abandoned food stands and booths littered the path to the Icescape. There were billboards on both sides of the entrance. One of them was dark. The other was on, image flickering. Shiny, happy young people twirled on the ice. It was grossly obvious the video had been taken before the Fall of Beacon. 

They headed up the grand white staircase. Inside, a man with huge spectacles slumped over the front desk, eyes shut. He let out a gentle snore. Penny and Ruby exchanged quizzical glances.

Penny cleared her throat, sound echoing in the quiet of the entrance hall. The man at the counter jumped. His spectacles flew off his face. He swore and fumbled for them. Penny picked them up from the countertop and handed them over.

“Ice skating for two, please,” she said in her politest tone. 

The baffled gentleman replaced his spectacles and gave her a long look. 

“I know you from somewhere, girly?”

“We have never met. But it is very nice to meet you!”

“Hmm.” He seemed unconvinced but began to type away at the cash register. Penny handed over a bundle of credits. He eyed her again. 

“Shoe size?”

“Shoe...size…?”

“I assume you’ll be wanting to hire some skates, girly?”

“I-” 

Penny’s mind went blank. Of course. Of course, if you were going ice skating you needed to wear ice skates. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Yet again, she’d forgotten that she wasn’t… real. Ruby might claim that it didn’t matter but there was always something out there, something in the world to remind her. She looked down at her feet, horror blooming in her chest.

“Two size 4s,” said Ruby. Her hand was a reassuring weight on Penny’s shoulder.

The gentleman grunted and went to fetch the skates.

“They won’t fit me, Ruby,” Penny whispered.

“We can always go up a size.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s...I don’t have feet.”

“What? But you have fingers…”

“Yes! But not feet, just shoes! I don’t think I’ll be able to wear the skates.”

“Sure you will. We’ll just have to improvise!”

The gentleman returned with the skates and directed them to the lockers where they could pack away their things. Ruby hauled her skates on with no problem. But Penny took one look and knew she wasn’t going to be able to do the same. She lowered her head, trying not to mind too much. Maybe she could watch Ruby from the outside? 

The world blurred and something wet splashed her cheek. 

“Hey,” Ruby said gently. “So do your shoes come off at all…?”

Penny shook her head. “It’s no good. They’re completely the wrong shape.”

“I’ve got an idea. Wait here.”

Ruby returned a minute later with a much larger pair of skates. A man’s size. Penny blinked as Ruby knelt before her, skate in hand.

Very gently, she lifted Penny’s leg and coaxed her shoe-shaped foot into the skate. It was awkward. But with some clever maneuvering, Ruby managed to get it on without doing any damage to either Penny or the skate. 

“Maybe I’ll ask Father if he’d mind working on an upgrade for my feet.”

“Your feet are fine the way they are. Ask him for special ice skates.”

Penny laughed, her tears all dried up. “OK.” She reached out to cup Ruby’s jaw. Ruby leant into her hand and smiled sweetly. “Let’s go do our special mission!”

XxX

The ice rink was quiet, with only another handful of people there. Some of them were truly talented, whizzing round at alarming speeds. Music played in the background, bouncy pop songs that could make you forget the tension in the world outside. 

The skates were strange to walk in. It had taken a few moments to recalibrate balance. Actually on ice was stranger still. Penny pushed one 'foot' forward and then the other. Then twirled on the spot. It wasn’t so difficult, once you got used to it. The lack of friction was freeing and her spirits lifted. 

“Argh!” 

Ruby thudded hard onto the ice. From her face, it seemed to have hurt. 

“Oh! Apologies, I should have caught you!”

“It’s fine. I have sucky balance.”

“Let’s start by going along the railing. Then you have something to hold onto.”

Ruby fell two more times, even with the railing. Penny righted her each time and though she wasn’t glad Ruby was finding the activity difficult, she was enjoying the closeness it entailed. Ruby was so light, her hair soft. Humans were such fragile things, which was both beautiful and frightening. Ruby’s aura would guard her while they were on the rink, but without it she’d die if she so much as hit her head wrong. It made Penny’s desire to protect her even fiercer.

They made the rest of the circuit without another fall.

“Maybe I can let go now?”

Ruby pushed off from the railing. She did fine, until she tried turning. Then she flailed and tumbled into another fall, which Penny zipped over and saved her from. Ruby grasped on to her shoulders to balance. They were close enough that Penny could feel tickly breath against her neck. 

“...Or not. I guess I’ll stick to the railing.”

“I can skate backwards.”

“I know! You’re a natural.”

“I can guide you. If you would like that?”

Penny gently linked their hands and shimmied back, letting Ruby glide forwards. Her red cape swished out behind her and Ruby laughed, the first genuine laugh Penny had heard from her since she’d arrived in Atlas. 

“Should I keep going?”

“Yes!”

Even when Ruby veered alarmingly one way or the other, Penny was always able to right their balance. They did a couple of circuits like that. Then Ruby tried on her own again, much more successfully. Penny did a turn solo too, so quickly she left a breeze in her wake.

While they were on the rink, the world shrunk down to just the two of them. No Grimm, no Amity, no training, no huntress duties...just fun. Penny wished she could be this content forever. If only feelings could be caught in bottles so she could go back to them whenever she needed. Instead they were constantly shifting into new patterns, like the kaleidoscope in her father’s office. She hoped the patterns would remain on the happy end of the spectrum a while longer. 

XxX

After their time on the Icescape was up, they stopped at a cafe so Ruby could buy some hot chocolate. Penny would never know what chocolate tasted like but the muddy brown colour didn’t look all that appealing. 

“It’s to warm up, more than anything. Though it won’t be as good as the one Yang makes!”

The night air was cold, but not unbearable. The moon lit their way through virtually deserted streets back to Atlas Academy. Ruby sipped her drink as she walked. Her other hand was entwined with Penny’s. 

“I’d say the mission was a success,” said Ruby. “Don’t you think?”

“Hmm. Almost. I’d say a 98% success.”

“98%? Was there something we missed?”

“Just one tiny thing. But it’s easy to fix.”

“Oh?”

Penny stopped. Ruby turned back, paper cup in hand, confused expression on face.

“Do you remember the Vytal Festival...before my fight with Pyrrha?”

Ruby flinched. Penny couldn’t remember Pyrrha as anything other than the frightened girl in the coliseum. But Ruby had called her a friend, so perhaps it had been insensitive to bring her up. Either way, she pressed on.

“You came to see me before the fight. Ciel had gone. But you said you would cheer for me in the coliseum. So...I kissed you.”

“I remember! But I wasn’t sure if you did...”

“Doesn’t every girl remember her first kiss?”

“I guess so? I’m not exactly an expert.”

“The point is, you kissed me back! Even though you knew I was...well...me. Would you do it again?”

Ruby reached up and brushed her cheek with a careful hand. Then she cupped Penny’s chin and guided her face down so their lips met. A long, soft kiss.

Penny laughed shakily. “You’ve changed so much. I wasn’t sure you’d still want to.”

“Penny, finding you here is the happiest thing that’s happened to me in a long time. I’ll always want to kiss you.”

“Then may I request another?”

“As many as you like!”

Penny beamed. She felt light and fizzy and _alive_. When Ruby Rose kissed her, the whole world made a bit more sense. Every person she’d met had someone they loved - family, friends, lovers - if she could say the same, didn’t that make her one of them? 

The best thing about Ruby’s kisses was that they made her feel real.


End file.
